Olympics: should the show go on?

As coronavirus swept the globe a year ago, Japan portrayed the delayed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as an opportunity as well as a necessity, a celebration of humanity’s victory over Covid-19.

Now, with about 100 days to go, that promise looks not merely optimistic but flat wrong. More infectious strains are gaining ground, and Japan’s vaccination programme is barely off the ground. The global picture is even grimmer. Brazil has more than 4,000 deaths a day, and India had more than 125,000 new cases last Wednesday alone.

Tokyo’s governor has said she would ask the central government to impose new measures urgently. Osaka, with a record high in cases last week, has already adopted strict new rules: its stretch of the torch relay will take place in a closed park. No overseas spectators will be permitted, and domestic ones could yet be banned.

But tens of thousands of athletes and officials, media workers and others will be descending on the Japanese capital. As things stand, there is no requirement for competitors to quarantine or be vaccinated.

Concerns have grown after dozens of athletes left the supposedly Covid-19-safe European Indoor Championships in Poland last month with coronavirus infections. North Korea pulled out of the Olympics last week. In January a poll found 80% of people in Japan think the games should be scrapped or postponed again. The latter is not a feasible option, both for logistical reasons and because there is little confidence that everything will look rosy in a year. But scrapping this year’s games would be devastating for athletes, who in many cases might be losing their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete or win.

The big issue is the billions of dollars at stake set against the lives that could be lost. Japan and the International Olympic Committee must ask themselves whether this event can really be justified. /London, April 12